Great Northern Brewing Co. can refer to two different alcohol brands: a now‑closed craft brewery in Montana, USA, and a major Australian beer brand owned by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB).

What it is (quick scoop)

  • The Australian Great Northern Brewing Co. is a mass‑market beer brand launched by CUB in 2010, styled on an older local beer called Cairns Draught and recognisable by its marlin logo on cans and bottles.
  • The Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish, Montana was a “gravity‑flow” craft brewery founded in 1995 by Minott Wessinger, great‑great grandson of historic brewer Henry Weinhard.

Montana brewery snapshot

  • The Whitefish brewery opened in January 1995 in a three‑storey brewhouse designed for traditional gravity‑flow brewing, and produced around 8,000 barrels of beer per year.
  • It became known for beers like Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager, which originally launched in the mid‑1990s, paused, then briefly returned in 2010 for the brewery’s 15th anniversary.
  • The brewery building was sold to a real‑estate group, and Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish closed on 17 February 2020.

Australian brand snapshot

  • CUB introduced Great Northern Brewing Co. in 2010 as a Queensland‑centric lager brand, later rolled out nationally as an easy‑drinking beer positioned for warm‑weather outdoor occasions.
  • The branding leans heavily on northern Australian imagery (marlin logo, coastal and fishing themes), helping it become one of Australia’s most prominent mainstream beer labels through the 2010s and 2020s.

Recent discussion and “trending topic” angle

  • In early 2025, the Australian Great Northern brand drew attention in 4WD and outdoor communities over a campaign to support buying private land to add to national parks through the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife.
  • After backlash from some off‑road and bush‑user groups who feared tighter access and restrictions, the company “paused” that national‑parks push and redirected donations to endangered‑species preservation instead, which itself became a talking point about how well marketers understand their core drinkers.

Forum and design chatter

  • Designers on logo forums have discussed “Great Northern Brewing Co.” branding for a micro‑distillery, critiquing fine linework and suggesting clearer hierarchy so the name does not get lost in the illustration.
  • Beer forums and review sites also feature fan posts about the Montana brewery’s closure and nostalgia for its beers, reflecting a small but devoted following for the original craft operation.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.